Florida ranked among states with the least student debt

Florida's student debt load is lighter than most other states, according to a WalletHub study. 

The Sunshine State comes in at No. 45 in the list that includes the District of Columbia.

Since Florida's state population leans older, that factors into student debt calculations as fewer residents have recently graduated college compared to other states. 

To calculate that ranking, WalletHub compared 12 relevant metrics like average student debt and employment opportunities for students in each state.

The state with the most student debt was South Dakota.​

At the end of the first quarter of 2018, total outstanding college-loan balances disclosed on credit reports stood at $1.49 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.